Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help support all medical graduates to access employment.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Last year, all eligible medical applicants were offered a place on the UK Foundation Programme, which provides medical graduates with employment as a doctor and which continues of their training.

The 10-Year Health Plan for England, published in July 2025, set out that over the next three years we would create 1,000 new specialty training posts with a focus on specialties where there is the greatest need.

On 8 December 2025, the Government put an offer in writing to the British Medical Association (BMA) Resident Doctors Committee which was rejected. The offer would have increased the number of training posts over the next three years from the 1,000 announced in the 10-Year Health Plan to 4,000, bringing forward 1,000 of these training posts to start in 2026. The BMA have rejected the Government's offer, so that is not going ahead. The Government will consider its next steps.

The Government will introduce the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill in Parliament, which will prioritise United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland medical graduates for foundation training, and prioritise UK and Republic of Ireland medical graduates and doctors who have worked in the National Health Service for a significant period of time for specialty training. Subject to parliamentary passage, this will apply to current applicants for training posts starting in 2026, and every year after that. This will reduce competition ratios for UK medical graduates and other prioritised applicants.

This is in addition to the steps already taken by NHS England in September to tackle competition for speciality training places this year by changing General Medical Council’s registration requirements and limiting the number of applications that can be submitted by individuals.

Found: Impact statement: Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill

Found: Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill – information for applicants to medical training